


It Was 1970 (All Over Again)

by traumschwinge



Category: X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Erik Has Feelings, Erik is a Sweetheart, Erik is not a Happy Bunny, Established Relationship, Honestly Charles What Are You Thinking, M/M, Temporary Amnesia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-04
Updated: 2015-12-04
Packaged: 2018-05-04 19:34:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5346059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/traumschwinge/pseuds/traumschwinge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eight years after the events of Days of the Future Past, Charles and Erik are finally close to having repaired their relationship. Erik is teaching at the Xavier's Institute for Higher Learning after dropping possible students in various bad shapes off there for years. Charles has started to let him back into his heart, not just his life again. After the long and rocky road it took them to get there, they've finally found some peace in each other.<br/>That is, until one morning, Charles' usual, weekly session in Cerebro goes terribly wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It Was 1970 (All Over Again)

**Author's Note:**

> Do NOT be fooled by the fluffy beginning. If you tend to have your heart broken by fic, this fic will break it in tiny little pieces.

It still felt surreal. He'd waken up in Charles bed a couple of times now over the past few weeks, even through most of the nights he slept in his own bed even if they had sex. Most of the days, Erik couldn't believe he had been forgiven enough to have this again. It had taken him eight years, eight awful years of atoning for everything he had destroyed with Charles to have him back. He hadn't even thought it possible for the longest time. And now he was here, in his bed again for the second night in a row.

Erik blinked his eyes open to find Charles sitting up next to him and looking down at him. He was smiling, the morning sun was casting golden highlights into his thinning hair. He looked like an angel to Erik. And he must have heard the thought, because he started laughing. “Good morning,” he said. He still bit his lips like he had back in the sixties. Erik would really love to kiss those lips again without any other agenda behind it.

Charles’ smile widened a little. Erik could feel his love for him washing over his mind. “Hank and Alex don’t have to know,” Charles whispered. “If you’d kiss me now…” He projected how he remembered kissing Erik had felt when they were younger, how he was feeling about Erik now and just how much he wanted that kiss to happen.

Erik leaned up for a brief, almost shy kiss. His heart missed a beat and then two, making him somehow forget to pull away. When Charles started to nip at his lip, Erik opened them without even thinking. He let himself being pulled on top of Charles so they were in a more comfortable position for kissing. Erik sighed happily.

”We should get up soon,” Charles eventually said between kisses. He was so happy it started to get Erik’s head spinning. “Teachers can’t be late for class.”

”I could help you getting ready?” Erik suggested. “We could stay in bed a little longer.”

Charles shook his head, as Erik had expected. He was very insistent on keeping every last bit of his independance. As difficult as it was, Erik had had to learn to accept it. “Next time, maybe,” Charles said, kissing Erik one last time on the nose. Next time maybe, Erik had learned in the past few years could mean anything between the actual next time and several months. But he was willing to wait. For Charles, to have him by his side and to know he was loved by him, Erik was willing to find all the patience he had lacked before.

”Next time then,” he sighed. He crawled off Charles with a heavy heart. A couple of hours of classes and he would see Charles for lunch, he told himself.

Charles laughed. “Don’t act like you don’t think classes are fun.” He send Erik a memory, about two years old by now, of a class he had watched, right at the beginning when Erik still had been in his first term as a teacher. Back then, it had taken encouragements from all sides for Charles to even look at Erik. Back then, Charles had been so insecure about Erik’s sincerity and his own judgement of Erik. It broke Erik’s heart to admit it but he’d done everything to deserve it.

”I’ll see you at lunch then,” Erik nodded. “Don’t overdo it with Cerebro this time.” He leaned over to kiss Charles a last time, his legs already dangling over the side of the bed.

”I promise,” Charles said solemnly. “Don’t scare your class with your good mood.”

Erik grinned with all his teeth. “Can’t promise the impossible. They’ll just have to get used to it.”

He was almost certain that after waking up like this, there was nothing that could ruin his mood that day.

~*~

It was the one day every week Charles had set aside time especially to look for mutants in need with Cerebro. Between administrative work, classes, more administrative work and anything public relations related it had become a neccessity over the past years. He had come to realize that if he wanted to keep searching for those in need he had to schedule to do so. It was sad, but Charles took it as a sign the school was on the right way.

He wheeled up to Cerebro’s console. It had become ritual ever since Erik had moved into the mansion that Charles would brush his mind one last time over Erik’s before he took the helmet into his hands, closing their newly reestablished connection a second before the helmet was on his head. Charles closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, all alone in his own head for a brief moment.

Then, he turned Cerebro on.

It was always overwhelming, leaving his body behind and floating from mind to mind as pure consciousness. For a while, he simply drifted, getting a general feel for this ocean of minds, before he started looking at those individuals crying out for help or in distress.

When Charles finally returned to himself, everything felt foreign. This body didn’t feel like his. He was sitting in the damned chair again, his hands on the doomsday device Hank called Cerebro. There were minds all over the school, his telepathy stretching to touch them against his will, one mind calling him in like a magnet.

_Erik_

Charles eyes narrowed when he realized it. This couldn’t be. This had to be a cruel dream, a nightmare. He banged his fists on the armrests of his chair. It hurt. He closed his eyes for a moment, allowing his telepathy to feel Erik out. He was happy. Of all people in this world, Erik was happy. Charles bit his lip so hard it went white.

On the top of his lungs, he screamed, “HANK!”

~*~

Erik was in the middle of his “History of Ideas” philosophy class when he felt Charles’ telepathy return to the back of his mind. He had gotten used to it, used to Charles knowing even the darkest parts of it, but usually just being there passively to know he was there. Something was different about it today, though. Erik did his best to get on with his lecture about Descartes and not start worrying about Charles. Charles could handle himself.

He had just turned to the blackboard when he heard Jean gasp. Something felt very, very wrong. But Erik didn’t have time to worry. He didn’t even have the time to catch himself as he was knocked out from one second to the next.

~*~

Erik came back to his senses in an infirmary bed. He could hear a girl sob for a few moments, before it went dark around him again. It was like somebody had just switched him off, forcing his mind and body into standby until he was needed again.

When he came to the next time, Erik’s field of view was strangely smaller. It was like something was covering his nose and cheeks. He could feel the metal of it, humming to him in a strange melody. It took him a moment to realize why this way of waking up was horribly familiar. In panic, he opened his eyes and sat up, his hands flying up to the helmet on his head, pulling it off. He couldn’t do this to Charles again. He had promised to never put up this cursed wall between them again. The helmet had to go off _now_.

”Erik, don’t!” he could hear Hank yell at him, just when he got the helmet off and everything went black again.

The third time Erik woke up he was still in the infirmary bed, the helmet back on his head. This time, he couldn’t even move. Erik struggled against the leather straps holding him down. He was just about to call some metal he could feel closeby to free himself, when he heard somebody pad over. “Erik!” Hank said. “Calm down, please.”

”What’s going on?” Erik snarled. He had to uncomfortably turn his head to look at Hank despite the helmet. “Where’s Charles?!”

Hank looked uncomfortable. He avoided looking at Erik. “Charles is…” Hank shook his head. “If you promise me to listen to what I have to say and to keep the helmet on, I’ll remove the straps.” After Erik’s brief nod, Hank removed the straps around Erik’s wrists. He sat down beside the bed. Erik sat up. For a long moment, silence hung heavy between them.

”What’s the last you remember?” Hank finally asked. “Before you… passed out?”

”Charles just finished with Cerebro and was back in my mind. I was… teaching?” Erik blanched. “The students…!”

Hank made a placating gesture. “They’re fine. Just a bit worried.”

Erik nodded. He suddenly remembered a detail. “How’s Jean? I remember her sobbing.” He wanted to ask about Charles but Hank clearly didn’t want to be rushed into that topic.

”She’s okay again. She was just worried for a while.” Hank looked over his shoulder to the door. “Listen, about Charles…”

Erik’s heart beat a bit faster. “What about him?”

”Something went wrong with Cerebro, I’m still not sure what, but…” Hank swallowed. “He’s… It’s like… I’m almost certain…”

”Spill it, Hank,” Erik growled. He had no patience for this when he was worried about Charles.

”He thinks it’s 1970.” Hank spoke so fast he almost stumbled over his own words.

It felt like the ground had been pulled beneath Erik’s feet. His chest became too tight to breathe. His arms were suddenly very cold and there was a heavy weight in the pit of his stomach. “What?” he croaked. Eight years it had taken them, eight hard years of hard work on both sides. And suddenly, Charles had lost all memories of it? Erik was shaking. “Do you want me to leave?” he whispered.

Hank looked at him with wide eyes.

”Charles made me promise to never ever put that helmet on if I wanted to stay,” Erik murmured. “Now I do and… Does that mean you want me to leave?”

Hank shook his head. He sighed. “Do you remember how Charles punched you when you…” He made a gesture indicating breaking him out of the pentagon. “Charles was so angry. All those years. Mostly because of you. And this time, he has his telepathy. He doesn’t need to punch you to knock you out…”

”...he just does with his mind,” Erik finished the sentence. He touched the helmet. “Can’t you talk to him?”

”I tried!” Hank sounded desperate and about twenty years younger again. “He refuses to listen! You need to wear the helmet and… Maybe stay out of Charles’ way. Until…” He shrugged. “Until we come up with a better solution.”

”I hate this,” Erik grumbled, but he didn’t protest the plan.

”Can I…” Hank raised his hand. “Would you mind me checking you up? Just to make sure Charles didn’t lie when he said he just shut you down.”

Erik raised an eyebrow. He knew from some off hand comments that Charles had been not at his best during the 70s but that he had been so bad Hank wouldn’t be surprised to be lied to was news to Erik. He nodded. “Go ahead.” He still felt incredibly rattled. Hearing that he was at least physically alright sounded like a nice prospect.

Hank wasn’t done until at least an hour later. It was past dinner time when Erik finally left the infirmary. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t hungry anyway. As Hank had advised, Erik went straight to his room, still the one of the teacher’s bedrooms furthest away from Charles’.

Being left without plans aside from holeing up in his room, Erik decided he could just as well prepare the classes for the next month or so or grade some homework. However, he hadn’t even settled down yet, when there was a knock at the door. Erik quickly checked that Charles’ was still in his office. When he was sure it wasn’t Charles, he let the door swing open. It was Jean. “Come in,” Erik asked her, a little surprised.

Jean came in, a little shy and closed the door behind her. She glanced at the helmet, clearly uncomfortable with it. “I just wanted to see how you are,” she mumbled. “And… Mr McCoy said you’d be in your room.”

Erik could only imagine from the way Charles had described it how uncomfortable it must be for her to talk to him with the helmet on his head. That the helmet also prevented people to read his face didn’t help either. He wondered if he should even teach like that. “I’m better now,” he said slowly.

”The Professor…” she started up but then couldn’t go on. She looked troubled. “He’s so angry all of a sudden.” She swallowed. “And he hates you so much.”

Erik avoided looking at her. “Do you remember what it was like when I first came here? Or when I then moved in?” he said softly.

Jean nodded. “The professor was so happy and full of hope but he didn’t know if he could trust you. He… You did betray his trust before.”

Erik sighed. “I…” He pressed his lips together. He still didn’t like to even think about that day and that beach in Cuba. “I’m the reason why he can’t walk anymore. And… It was on the same day when our methods clashed.” He shrugged helplessly. “My own fear and prejudice got the better of me. We had a fight, couldn’t see eye to eye. It turned physical.” He tapped the helmet. “First time I put this on too. I think it’s one of the main reasons whenever we fight. It’s hard for Charles to understand then. It’s hard for me to not get impatient with him or cut him some slack when he says idiotic things he’d never say could he understand how I’d react.” He had to take a break. “After that, Charles hated me. Hated himself and his telepathy, too. But mostly me. I hurt him badly. Both physically and…” Telepath, he reminded himself. Jean probably knew. He beat a fist against his chest a couple of times. “Messy breakup.”

”Oh,” was all Jean could say to that. “I’m sorry.” For a moment, she seemed lost in thought. “You fixed it, though. Right? So… Can you… Both of you. Fix it again? He’s… He doesn’t seem himself now. He… I’m a little afraid of him like that.”

Erik had started fiddling with the helmet. “Last time when we saw each other again for the first time after…” He took a breath. “After our breakup, he punched me in the jaw. And that was with him agreeing and knowing that he would see me. This time, I think he’s surprised I’m here and… Well.”

Jean nodded. “What are you going to do now?” Again, she seemed lost in thought for a bit. Maybe she let some other students listen in on their talk. Erik cursed inwardly. But then again the students should probably know about his and Charles’ past. “You’re not going to stop teaching are you? Some of us really like your classes,” Jean said.

Erik shrugged. “I don’t want to. But… If Charles demands me to leave I will. Other than that, right now all I can do is wait.” He sighed. “Hank promised to try make Charles see enough reason and work out a way to make Charles get his memories back. Until then, you probably won’t see me outside of classes.”

”I see,” Jean murmured. “I’m sorry, Mr Lehnsherr.”

Erik shook his head. “It’s my own fault. And it was an accident. Don’t hold it against Charles.”

”Still…” Jean looked sad on his behalf. But unsure what else to say, she stood up. “Good night, Mr Lehnsherr.”

”Good night, Jean.” Erik led her the few steps to the door and then locked it behind her. Alone again, he went straight to bed. He felt awful.

~*~

Staying completely out of Charles way was difficult, even if Erik pushed his own feelings about it out of the way. The school was still not all that big yet, with only a bare dozen of rooms occupied by its students and teachers and some more for classes and as common rooms. He skipped meals on the first few days just so Charles didn’t have to see him, but that proved impractical soon. He had to eat even if he didn’t feel like it. So he shifted to eat before or after the others had, always checking where Charles was. He hated it.

It was worse when he had run ins with Charles though. And it got harder to ignore him each time, as Charles never passed up on an opportunity to tell Erik exactly how awful and vile and how much of a monster he thought Erik was. It was like a constant slew of insults, each better aimed and crafted to hurt Erik with. Feeling hurt, betrayed and miserable had considerably reduced Charles will to act like a nice person. So much so Charles didn’t even think others wanted to be nice to him. Erik had tried and so had Alex and Logan, but neither of them got through to him. Hank had capitulated before he’d even tried and instead started to boss Charles around like he was some brat. Erik was coming to understand why.

The first few times Erik met Charles in the halls because it was unavoidable, because he had to get to class in the morning or change rooms. He did his best to ignore Charles’ insults, his desire to make Erik feel as disappointed and lost as he himself felt. It worked for a while. Once or twice Erik even tried to agree with Charles just so they had some common ground to talk on, but Charles didn’t want that. All Charles wanted was to share his hurt with the one person that didn’t, couldn’t, let him into his mind.

With time, though, all the insults and hurtful truths wore on Erik. The needling found its way through the tight defenses Erik had wrapped around his heart. It could just be because it was Charles saying all those things to him. More than one night, Erik found himself sitting in Alex’ room, beating himself up over all the same things Charles had flung at his head that day. Sometimes Hank joined, urging Erik to be as patient with Charles as Charles had been with him.

The worst was when Charles got it into his head that he should come watch one of Erik’s classes. He had withdrawn from all his administrative work, leaving it to Hank and Erik to fill in. But watching a class was apparently something he thought he had to do. Erik did his best not to let Charles’ presence interfere with his teaching. Charles didn’t interrupt the class, at least, even though he sneered and sniffled at some points and tried to pierce Erik’s skull with his glares.

At the end of the lesson, however, Charles raised his hand when Erik asked if there were any questions. “Yes, Professor Xavier?” Erik was already wary.

”From what you said, the gist of it is to question anything we hear, see, feel or do,” Charles said in that drawl that got on Erik’s nerves like nothing else. It was so much and not at all like Charles it drove him mad. Charles gestured vaguely. “But do you ever think before you act? I mean at all. Come on, Erik, you must think this is bullshit too big to be taught.”

Behind his lectern, hidden from the students and Charles, Erik clenched his fist. He had to count to three before he could answer Charles calmly. “This isn’t about what I think is right or wrong. This is about what we as teachers thought would be important for students to learn. And the history of the important ideas and philosophies our society is founded on was one of those points. So if nobody has any questions concerning the actual content of today’s lecture.” Erik shot Charles a glare. “Class dismissed.”

The students, all of them looking incredibly uncomfortable, packed their things and left with a speed Erik hadn’t even thought teenagers possessed. Charles, on the other hand, stayed behind and waited for Erik to stop ignoring him. Erik didn’t even look at him while he put his notes away. He had still quite some time before the afternoon class would start. Maybe he should just leave and get something to eat in the hopes that Charles would be gone by the time he came back.

”How can you dare walking around my own house like this?” Charles hissed all of a sudden. “And how long do you think you could keep ignoring me? Don’t you think you hurt me enough you fucking asshole?”

Erik sighed. “Promise me you won’t knock me out and I’ll take the helmet off.” He’d love to, actually. He didn’t like walking around like that and liked it even less how Jean sometimes looked at him when they talked in class and outside. “And I’m here because you asked me to. You invited me. You just don’t remember it anymore.”

”If I ever invited you,” Charles spat the words. “I hereby uninvite you. Get lost, Erik. I don’t want to see you ever again.” He had wheeled halfway up to Erik. Only a couple of days ago, Erik reminded himself, Charles had kissed him with a love that had both of them made feel as if they were finally at peace. It was all Erik could hold onto, the hope that they could get back to that somehow. But Charles wasn’t finished. “You’re a monster, dangerous to anyone around you and unable to love. Get away from our students. I don’t want you close ever again!”

That was too much. For Charles to insinuate he would knowingly hurt any of their students. If things were that bad in how Charles was seeing things, then…

With a loud, ringing sound, the helmet hit the ground before Charles. “If you really think this way, I should probably leave. This was a waste of both our time,” Erik hissed, feeling hurt and terribly alone. Charles didn’t even try to get back into his mind. Instead, he just stared at Erik, his mouth hanging slightly open. Not that Erik cared much as he stormed out of the room.

~*~

Erik had a suitcase open on his bed already and was throwing clothes in when Alex entered unprompted and uninvited. “You can’t be seriously leaving now!” he said, not shouting in volume but still in the intensity of his words.

Erik shot him a halfhearted glare. “This isn’t the first time I’m thrown out of my home unexpected,” he murmured. “I can handle it.”

”Nobody wants you to leave!” Alex had folded his arms in front of his chest. “We need you. Right here. Especially now.”

Erik shrugged. “Charles doesn’t.”

”Charles doesn’t know shit right now,” Alex huffed. He dropped down on Erik’s bed next to the suitcase. “He’s fucking annoying like this.”

”He’s right about most things, though.” Erik was wondering why on earth he was defending Charles now. “And he’s hurt and confused.”

”Then why don’t you help?” Alex was watching him intently. “Why do you run away just because he pushed you? He didn’t run away. He waited for you to be ready.”

Erik raised an eyebrow. “Are you trying to tell me I should take Charles’ usual approach and just be patient?”

”Be the fucking mountain the storm rages against until it tires if you need to,” Alex looked intently at Erik’s face while he spoke to gauge a reaction before he broke into a grin when he was sure Erik had gotten what he was getting at.

Erik shook his head. “Remind me to never let you into any of my classes..” Still, he stopped packing. “He said I was a danger to our students,” he admitted in a low voice. “I can take the insults. But I can’t take that.”

”You’re a menace,” Alex admitted. “You always were. But not in a way that any of us, any of them would get hurt. You only push when you know you can catch if needed.”

Erik gave him a friendly shove so Alex lost his balance and fell back on the bed. “Don’t try make me sound like I’m nice,” he grinned. “I’m dangerous. Apparently the first year students think I bite off heads. And I’d like to keep it that way.”

Alex shook his head. “Sometime I wonder who’s worse you or Charles. Seriously. You’re both pretty bad on your own.”

”Is that why you want to keep me here?” Erik was smiling and had started unpacking again. “So my bad can cancel out Charles’? This is not maths, two negatives doesn’t make a positive.”

Alex looked around pointedly. “It looks pretty positive to me.”

”Get lost, Alex.” Erik was done unpacking and stored the suitcase back under the bed, pushing Alex’ legs out of the way.

”You staying?” Alex asked, just to make sure.

Erik nodded. “For now. Can’t promise I’ll endure it long. So tell Hank to hurry finding out what the hell happened. Because next time, I might throw something at Charles’ face instead of to his feet.”

”Understood,” Alex grinned. “Remember to come over if you need to talk.”

”See you at dinner,” Erik said, all but pushing Alex out.

~*~

Erik held his afternoon class like nothing had happened and he did join the rest of the school for dinner. Some of the students looked as if they were relieved seeing him, which Erik took as a good, if unusual and strange, sign that they wanted him to be at the school. He hadn’t even noticed much, but he had missed being part of the group meals they had three times a day. It lifted his spirits just to be there while the chatter of their students drowned the clatter of plates and silverware.

Charles was notably absent.

After dinner, Erik stayed to help with the cleaning. It had been so long since he’d last left his room for longer than necessary. He wanted to draw it out some more. It also kept him from thinking and worrying too much about Charles and so he stayed even after the cleaning was done, sitting in the common room to read a book from the school’s extensive library. The students didn’t seem to mind him and let him be, only the occasional one leaving for bed would wish him a good night.

By lights out, there were only two or three students left in the common room. Erik put his book away, before he shooed them to get ready for bed, allowing them five more minutes until he would switch off all the lights. If they weren’t in bed then it would be their own problem. It took them seven and a half minutes, but if Erik overlooked that nobody had to know.

The corridor on which all the students’ rooms were located had been all dark and quiet, so it was quite a change when Erik came to the teachers’ corridor, seeing light under the door of almost every occupied room. Only his and Charles’ were dark. He hesitated for a moment, fighting the urge to see if Charles was alright. But Charles was still up, despite the lack of light, warming the metal of his watch with his skin, and Erik didn’t dare to risk another fight like in the morning.

Instead he went straight to his own room, feeling tired and worn all of a sudden. He should be marking homework that night and look over some administrative stuff Hank had handed him, though, so instead of going to bed he sat down at his desk. He got through the marking with no trouble and halfway through the bills, requests and other letters addressed to the school, when there was a quiet knock at the door. He could feel Charles’ watch and wheelchair on the other side.

”Go away, I’m not up for another fight!” Erik called.

Charles ignored him. He opened the door and wheeled in, looking only sad and tired for the most part. Erik sighed and closed the door behind Charles with a wave of his hand. He hadn’t failed to notice the puffy redness around Charles’ eyes. “I’m busy,” Erik still huffed. “So what do you want?”

Charles glared at him. “Why did you stay after I told you to leave?” he demanded. “Don’t you get how much you torture me by being close and happy and feeling like you belong? You don’t belong here, Erik, this school was never meant for you to belong.”

Erik knew Charles was lying about the last part, but it still hurt hearing it. He forced himself to remember the plans for the school Charles had shown him the first time he had stayed for more than a single night. It had sounded all too easy to make room for Erik here at the school, nurturing the feeling Erik had always had about Charles wanting him to belong there from the start. Still, he couldn’t help but sound defensive when he answered. “Anyone but you thinks I belong here, Charles. And that’s fine by me.” He took a breath, speaking his heart for the first time since whatever had happened with Cerebro, “I love you. More than I ever did. We started being happy again. But then you had to go and have your head fried by that stupid machine and start acting like a brat, leaving everyone at the school, your students, us teacher, hanging just because you can’t be bothered with your silly idea that the whole world hurt you so you have to hate everyone in return.” He could just barely keep a frustrated sound from escaping his throat.

While he’d been talking, fresh tears of frustration had welled up in Charles’ eyes. From his body language it was obvious to Erik that if Charles were able to get up and stand he’d be drumming his fists against Erik’s chest. Erik felt the urge to drop to his knees and hug Charles until he felt better. “All I wanted when I came here tonight was being held by you, you fucking asshole,” Charles shouted at him all of a sudden.

Erik blinked, incomprehending.

Charles rolled his eyes. “It’s really true that handsome and stupid go hand in hand,” he muttered. “Fuck, Erik, get me out of this blasted chair and into bed with you.”

It still took a few heartbeats for Erik to stop staring at Charles like he was some sort of two headed creature and to gather Charles up in his arms so he could carry him over to the bed. He slipped off their shoes but left all other clothes on, before he lay down next to Charles.

”I hate that chair,” Charles muttered while he pulled Erik’s arm across his torso until it was to his satisfaction. “I really do.”

”I know,” Erik murmured. He kissed the side of Charles’ head. It earned him an elbow right between the ribs.

”I said hold me,” Charles muttered. “I never said you could kiss me.”

”Oh.” Erik did his best to move his head a little away from Charles’ without moving his arms. He had already resigned himself to take what he could get that night.

It took a while before Charles said something again, long enough for Erik to almost be asleep by then. “If you’d really want to, I guess you could kiss me,” he said, turning his head to Erik.

”Would you stay the night?” Erik asked. All of a sudden he was aware again that they were fully clothed on his bed and that for all he knew Charles could vanish while he was asleep.

Charles looked at him for a long time. “I’m not your boyfriend, Erik,” he said.

”You look like my boyfriend to me,” Erik replied, kissing Charles’ lips to quiet all protest.

”Well, I’m not,” Charles still had to say when they eventually pulled apart. His words weren’t helped by how he was clinging to Erik’s shirt even though they had stopped kissing.

Erik couldn’t help but shrug, remembering the last time they had kissed like this. “Next time maybe…” he said.

Charles shook his head. “You’re unbelievable!” He turned away, with much more difficulty than Erik was used to. “I want to sleep now, turn off the lights.”

Erik called the chair close to Charles’ side of the bed should Charles decide he didn’t want to sleep in the same bed as Erik after all before he turned off the light. “Would you graciously allow me to spoon you or do I have to sleep on the floor?” He made it sound like a joke but it was a concern to him.

But Charles only said, “Is there another way for you to hold me the entire night?” He leaned back his torso when Erik had wrapped his arm around Charles. Soon enough, Charles’ breath evened out. Erik followed his example, eventually having decided to just accept that this strange night had even happened.

~*~

Early the next morning, just barely past sunrise, Erik was woken by urgent hammering at his door. He hadn’t even noticed locking it. With a quick gesture, he let whoever was so set on seeing him in. Unsurprisingly, it turned out to be Hank. His eyes flickered briefly over to Charles’ still sleeping form, and to the wheelchair, before they settled on Erik, who’d just then managed to carefully take his arm from Charles. “I found out what’s wrong,” Hank said lamely, clearly taken aback by Charles’ presence.

”Can that wait a little longer?” Erik pleaded, but Charles was already stirring awake. Erik tensed, immediately creating space between them so Charles didn’t have to push him if he changed his mind about Erik’s presence over night. To his surprise, however, Charles stretched his telepathy over his mind before he even opened his eyes, settling over Erik’s thoughts like a very faint blanket. Erik sighed in relief.

Charles blinked up at Hank. “What’s wrong?” he asked. His voice was still thick with sleep.

Hank blushed under his fur. Erik didn’t need to be a telepath to understand what Hank thought had happened, so he pushed the blanket down to reveal that they were both still dressed in yesterday’s clothes. Charles made a little displeased sound, so Erik let him have the blanket. It took a bit of throat clearing before Hank was ready to answer Charles’ question. “I’m not exactly sure what happened, but some parts of Cerebro broke the last time you used it. I, uh, repaired it and I’m pretty sure it should, ah, set things right again.”

”You think?” Erik asked. He would definitely not let Charles try anything Hank wasn’t even confident about. Not even if it could mean he could get his Charles back right away. He’d rather have to work on their relationship for ten more years than allowing that.

But Charles just put a hand on Erik’s arm. “It’s alright,” he murmured. As he turned to Hank, he said louder, “If this makes things go back to way they were, if that means I get my memories back…” He swallowed. “I’ll do it.” He squeezed Erik’s hand. “I looked into your memories while you were asleep,” he admitted, looking only a little sorry about it. “I want what I saw there and I don’t want to wait.”

Erik sighed. “It’s your choice. Your mind. Your life.” He wasn’t even mad about Charles reading his mind.

”Hank won’t kill me!” Charles protested.

”Not voluntarily,” Erik muttered.

Hank merely raised an eyebrow at that. He was used to Erik and Alex’ claims that more often than not his inventions and improvements were a danger to life and limb. “Professor?” he asked. “Are you coming?”

Charles nodded. “Just a moment.” With some, still unusual difficulty he transferred into his chair which Erik was holding steady for him with his powers. “Would you wait for me here?” Charles asked. Erik was a little surprised that he wasn’t just ordered to. But maybe Charles just wanted them to make small steps to fixing this, Hank’s plan working out or not.

”I’ll be right here,” Erik promised. He watched motionless as Hank and Charles left.

All he could then was wait. But waiting didn’t mean he had to stay in bed and worry, as much as he’d like to. It was more sensible to get up and get the rest of the work from last night done, he decided. However, just because he had a boring task to concentrate on didn’t mean that his thoughts wouldn't stray to the question how Charles was doing the entire time.

It felt like an eternity until Charles touched his mind again. It was faint and almost shy at first as if he was unsure if Erik would even want him to but it was still there. _Charles?_ Erik thought as loudly as he could. His heart was beating faster in wait for whatever news Charles had.

 _It worked. I’m on my way back up to you,_ Charles responded, sounding a little giddy. _Would you say no if I wanted to make it up to you for the past few days?_

Erik was still laughing about Charles’ cheekiness when Charles came in and didn’t even stop when they crawled back into bed together.


End file.
